


1924

by moriartys_crown_jewels



Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock - Fandom, Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms, Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bickering, Fluff, Homophobic Language, M/M, Period-Typical Homophobia, allthingsbrightandcolourful, cheekyseb, jimssisterisabitch, natureandimagery, picnicsandfishing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-02
Updated: 2016-06-07
Packaged: 2018-07-11 20:45:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7069300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moriartys_crown_jewels/pseuds/moriartys_crown_jewels
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once the blonde was sure the fish had fled from his feet, he looked up at Jim, that same shock of blonde flopping over his forehead, and pointed an accusing finger at him, squinting. </p>
<p>"I won't have you jeopardising my manhood and pride" </p>
<p>At the words, Jim's lips spread into a slow and amused smirk, raising a brow </p>
<p>"What manhood?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Congregations of greens and yellows leaned away from strong trunks of chestnut, and splattered the sky like a canvas; beams of light filtering through the gaps and dotting the ground where light treads by heavy boots were trodden. The gentle pattering and swishing of the river were just ahead, giving the already serene atmosphere an extra air of tranquility, and the cheerful chirping of the birds hopping from branch to branch added an extra euphonic harmony to the composition. The heavy beat of Jims boots as he strolled towards the river, hands shoved in his pockets and taking his time as he took in the scenery, disrupted the natural melody of the woods, and robins and blue-tits flitted away from the trees and left behind only the sound of their flapping wings. 

Jim's decision to explore the woods near his residence came with a nagging boredom, and now he became fatigued at the simple stroll, and so ventured further. Halting in the centre of the dirt path where it split and divided into two, he hesitated slightly before taking tentative steps forward onto the grass verge, and lifted a hand to push away a thin branch dressed and decorated in dangling leaves, pushing and shoving his way through the obstacles as twigs snapped under his weight. 

The whooshing of the river became gradually louder as the boy went on, stopping at times to inspect the colourful bugs clinging to the surfaces of the leaves and the rough bark of the tree trunks, before he finally pushed aside a branch to stumble onto the riverbank. The water was fresh enough to be clear, all the way to the soft cremes and browns of the pebbles underneath, and allowed you to peer at the fish dancing and twisting back and forth through the dazzling blue. However, the beauty of the river wasn't the object of Jim's attention as he paused at the grassy opening of the riverbank. A boy - around Jim's age at 17, stood in the middle of the short stream; the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up to his elbows, and his light brown trousers bunched up around his knees as to avoid getting wet as he bent at the waist, concentrating hard and gaze flitting over his view of the stream, and trying to catch a fish with his bare hands. 

Jim blinked profusely as he watched him, surprised the find anyone this deep into the woods, and he absorbed every flickering image. The boy was fair-haired; streaks of blonde dominating flashes of light brown, and coming across as more of a strawberry blonde than a platinum. His hair hung over his forehead in sharp shocks of short loose waves, and served as a stark contrast to Jim's slicked back and ebony hair, just a lick unfurling from the rest and curling in a stray ringlet on the side of his forehead. The boy was also strong; a sharp jaw and lithe, fit figure conveying him as a hard worker, and the blonde didn't notice Jim for a good few seconds, before he shifted on his feet and the sharp snap of a twig under his boots made the boys head whip up in alarm, before his expression contorted into that of surprise. 

It wasn't silent for long, and Jim was the first to speak, with a cocked head and inquisitive look on his face. 

"...What are you doing?"

The other boy fumbled at that, glancing around himself as if he had forgotten his own activities, and a flush spread across his cheeks in embarrassment before he stopped, and looked back up at him with a sheepish expression and a shrug, a single wave flopped over one of his eyes, and obscuring his view slightly. 

"Just....catching fish...?" 

Jim's head was still cocked to the side, frowning slightly. 

"Aren't they slippery? Wouldn't a rod be better?" 

The boy gave a non-commitent shrug this time, simply stating

"More fun"

The dark haired boys' gaze slowly moved to the clear waters of the stream following that, narrowing his eyes with a thoughtful look on his face as the fish; their shimmering scales glistening in the light of early afternoon, flicked and flitted back and forth round the other boys feet. He fumbled to fill the silence, interpreting the lack of conversation as awkward, and his polite nature implored him to gesture down to the stream in front of him as his gaze lingered on Jim. 

"Care to join?" 

Jim blinked up at him, snapped out of his reverie at the boys offer, and gave a slow nod before bending to untie his boot laces and roll his trousers up. He set his boots side by side - neatly, among the tall, swaying blades of grass, before slowly wading into the river to stand across from the other boy, watching fascinated as large and small fish of all shades and patterns flitted and brushed against his legs, making him huff out a surprised laugh. Jim bent again then and rolled his sleeves up to emulate that of the taller boys, trailing his hands through the stream to brush against the slippery and slimy scales of the fish, and the other boy copied, bending to trace his fingers over the pebbles beneath the shallow stream. They were silent for a time, the swishing of the flowing stream, and the chirping of the birds being fit to fill the content silence between them, before the other boy spoke up, gaze still fixed on where his fingers were. 

"You don't talk much, do you?" 

Jim's gaze slowly flicked up to him, and he gave a shrug 

"Not much to say"

The other boys' gaze flickered over him for a moment, studying, before taking a deep breath to speak, almost hesitant. 

"...Alright. What's your name?" 

Jim blinked at the question, narrowing his eyes in thought befors holding a hand out to him to shake. 

"Jim...Jim Moriarty"

The other boys' gaze flicked back down to his hand, and a small smile spread across his face as he lifted his own to grasp Jim's firmly in his grip. 

"Sebastian...Sebastian Moran" 

Jim let a slow smile spread across his face then, nodding as they both slowly pulled their hands back, and Sebastian smiled back at him. 

"I like your accent, Jimmy...Irish?" 

He nodded, fingers once again flitting and trailing through the stream, and letting out a small hum in confirmation. 

"Moved to England when I was around eight, so...nine years ago"

Sebastians brow rose, and he nodded in interest. 

"So you're 17, then? Same age as me" 

Once again, Jim nodded in confirmation. 

"Thought you might have been. It's not often you see adults frolicking in the stream with the fish as opposed to teenagers" 

A slow, teasing smile spread across his face as he spoke, and his gaze flicked from being fixed on the stream, to Sebastian, and he rose a brow. Sebastian's jaw had dropped playfully, a disbelieving smile spread across his face, before Jim flinched back at a sudden spit of water splatting him in the face, and he gasped as Seb threw his head back and laughed; a hearty and throaty exclamation, before Jim huffed with a playful scowl, and splashed him back. 

Sebastian only returned it, laughing as he splashed him in return, before it escalated into a full scale water fight; the both of them darting back from the water to avoid getting splashed more, and dashing back again to incite their vengeance. The disruptive splashing and spitting of the water around their feet halted the gentle flickering of the shimmering fish tails, to send them frantically flittering away from the scene as the glittering blue quickly formed into large bouts of pure white foam, splashing back against the small waves created by their prancing in small ripples, and created a scene of cheerful chaos among the serenity; swaying trees staying rooted to the ground where birds fluttered away from the disruption. 

After a short while, Jim walked through the water to get to the shore, attempting to move quickly to evade the other boys' splashing, and the weight of the water slowed his escape, eventually managing to plant his bare feet on the dewy grass of the riverbank, and turned with a laugh, holding his hands out and backing away in surrender of Sebastian as he pursued him with a mischevious grin, hands soaked and ready to flick the excess at him. 

"No! No, stop! Stop!" He laughed out, still slowly backing away, and the blonde narrowed his eyes, cautiously straightening with a smile, backing off, and instead plopped down onto the grass as Jim blinked down at him. Sebastian looked up at him then, raising a brow as he patted the grass next to him, and inviting him to sit to look out onto the riverbank. 

Slowly, Jim lowered himself onto the ground, legs crossed and hands gripping the tops of his feet as he gazed out at the view of the stream; and the towering greenery and shrubs of yellows, pinks, reds and blues shone in the sunlight, before he glanced over at the profile of Sebastian - curious. He was leaning back on his hands, looking out at the stream as Jim just was. After a few seconds, he noticed, and glanced over to him to flash him a smile, and Jim took a breath to speak. 

"So...do you come here often?" 

He took a moment to realise what he'd said, blinking, before he spluttered and turned a profound red.  
"Oh no! I didn't mean-!"

Sebastian interrupted him with a snorting laugh, head thrown back as Jim shrunk in on himself in embarrassment. The blonde calmed down enough after a few good seconds to be able to nod, chuckling. 

"Yeah, I come down here most days when I'm not busy" 

Jim nodded in interest, humming as he looked back out to the river, before Sebastian nudged him with his elbow, grinning at him. 

"You should come down again tomorrow. I'll show you how a real man fishes" Sebastian laughed as Jims' nosed scrunched in disapproval, and rolled his eyes, shaking his head with a small chuckle. 

"I'll bring a rod, thank you very much"

Sebastian gasped, a hand flying up to his chest to set his palm over where his heart is.

"I am insulted! Tell you what...I bet you...a shilling, that I could catch more fish with my bare hands than you could with a rod tomorrow." 

A slow and sly smile spread across Jim's face at that, and he nodded, holding out a hand to consolidate the deal, grinning as Sebastian confidently clasped his hand, and shook. 

"Done."


	2. 18/05/1924

It was around noon the next day when Jim stepped through the overlapping branches and out onto the river bank. The day was at it's peak, and the sun sat as a fiery hierarchy in the sky - shining down and filtering beams through the gaps in the leaves, and leaving the stream glittering and flowing like the finest silk. 

Jim's gaze ran up the river in search of a familiar stranger - gaze flitting over the pebbles and fish of the lake and the vibrant shades of the grass and flowers, and grinning as he spotted him. The boy was laying down on the grass with his hands behind his head as he squinted up at the sky, and with a shake of his head and the rod the smaller boy was designated to bring slung over his shoulder - bait tied to the end with a handkerchief, Jim headed over to where Sebastian lay, dropping it all onto the floor by his head.

"Afternoon"

The dark haired boy stood over Sebastian, looking down at him and raising a brow at the seemingly sleeping boy - long eyelashes fluttering and spanning across his cheek as a stray wisp of blonde lay in the centre of his forehead, and just passing the bridge of his nose. With the greeting, Sebastian popped an eye open to look up at him, and his face spread into a wide grin - Jim obscuring his view from the sun and casting a shadow over him and allowing him to see again without having to squint.

"Hello again, Jimmy" 

Jim rolled his eyes at the nickname, looking down at Sebastian with a raised brow; stretched across the plain of healthy and dewy green grass and wearing similar attire to what he was wearing the previous afternoon. 

"I brought a rod" 

The blonde gave a disinterested nod and a hum, too relaxed by the atmosphere to respond properly, and Jim promptly plopped himself down on the bank beside him, leaning back on his hands with his legs stretched out in front of him. With a contented sigh, he took in the view of the river for all it was worth, gaze running across the stream as well as around it. It cut like a blade through the grass in the centre of the woods, a sharp and jarring, gorgeous blue like a glittering gem, and contrasted to the deep chestnut and mahogany browns of the trees; dull greys of the rocks; and the bright and vibrant greens of the grass and the leaves which fluttered down to blend into it; land as a camouflage on the large, jutting rocks, and form a fractured layer over the stream, which carried the delicate leaves down deeper into the woods. It painted the scene in the kind of romanticism only an artist could create - like oil paints or watercolour on a large canvas right in front of him. Not only that, but the quiet rushing and soft pattering and splashing of the stream in front of him; the gentle rustling of the leaves and shrubs in the breeze; as well as the chirping of birds and crickets, gave it an almost musical aspect - harmonising to form a natural composition this deep into these beautful woods. 

"A picnic would be nice here"

Sebastian muttered, eyes still closed and in the same position as he was before Jim had become entranced by the scenery, and snapping the dark-haired boy out of his reverie. He blinked, and his head whipped down to him, taking in the sight of him in surprise and seeming to have forgotten he was there, before he gave a slow nod, humming in agreement.

"It would...wouldn't it?" 

The blonde grinned wide at Jim's confirming words, close-lipped, before shooting up, looking at Jim with an excitable glint in his eyes. Jim was wide-eyed in surprise at the sudden movement, his gaze piercing into Sebastians eyes when he was leaning this close, and he noticed the speckles of green flecks swirling among the blue, a flop of hair dangling over the half of one from shooting up so fast. 

"Luckily, we have a bet, and I gathered lots of firewood before you got here" 

With that, he jumped up; trousers already rolled up to his knees and his feet bare as he splashed into the shallow stream, droplets of clear water plonking into the stream in small ripples at the disruption and fish wriggling away as he shouted behind his shoulder. 

"Come on! Get your rod! I have a bet to win!" 

Jim huffed out a surprised laugh at his boisterousness, shaking his head, and grabbed the rod before pushing himself up to stand, glancing around before spotting a relatively large rock for him to perch on while he fished. With a last glance back at Sebastian, smiling, he padded over to the rock, and gripped the crevices of it to pull himself up and ontop of it, panting slightly as he plopped himself down in relief at being able to get up here without slipping. With the rod placed over his lap, he carefully undid the knot of the handkerchief, taking out the bait he had brought, and piercing some onto the hook of the fishing rod.

With an expert movement, Jim brought the rod back over his shoulder, before whipping it out into the stream where it landed with a small plonk, the hook swimming with the fish, and the float bobbing just above the surface of the water. Jim watched the fish silently, the water so crystal clear he could slowly edge the hook towards some of the largest fish to catch them, and as he dangled the string over the edge of the rock and into the water among the gaggle of fish, he took the oppurtunity to glance over the see if Sebastian had caught any fish yet, and laughed to see him attempting to approach a fish like a predator and dive into the water to catch it, failing miserably before he shot back up to try again. 

"First one to catch three wins!"

Sebastian hollered over at him as he huffed out a laugh and rolled his eyes, going back to concentrating on winning, and being careful with his rod as he observed a large cod approaching the hook. The float bobbed beneath the surface of the water after a couple of seconds, indicating he'd caught the cod in such little time, and Jim waited a few more moments to secure he'd caught it, before suddenly whipping the rod back out of the water, and reeling the wriggling fish towards him.

Reaching over to grasp the thread in his hands and pull it towards him, Jim carefully unhooked the bait from the creature's mouth, and called out to Sebastian with a triumphant grin.

"Better get my winnings ready!" 

At the call, Sebastian's head whipped up in surprise, the blonde waves flopping over his eyes once again in habit, and Jim grinned triumphantly back at him. 

"You caught one already?!" 

With a smug grin, Jim nodded, and dropped the still wriggling fish onto the flat surface of the rock before reaching to get more bait and hook it on before dangling it back out onto the water to catch more, whipping it out so the float landed with a small plonk into the water, bobbing under the surface before stilling above it, and the bright red serving as a vivid contrast to the jasmine blue of the water. 

Not four feet away, Sebastian watched with a defeated scowl before his brow furrowed, and he seemed to become even more competitive. He allowed his voice to quieten, taking more tentative steps as to decrease the volume and disruption to the fish he was intending to capture, and allowed peace to return to the river - the chittering of birds; rustling of the trees that came with the soft and gentle breeze; and the rushing of the river running downstream around his bare feet once again overcoming the boisterous sounds of Sebastians deep voice and heavy splashes from when he pranced clumsily in the river. 

He was in a crouch, and Jim watched him with an amused smile as he sat silently atop the rock, doing nothing but merely holding the rod upright and keeping the bait from swaying and becoming too obvious a trick for even the fish (which were fluttering back and forth around the bait) to fall for.

It was still bright and beating down on the opening of the river, and Jim tilted his head back to allow his gaze to fall on the bright blue skies; clouds dotted randomly across the plains as he stared up at them. They reminded him of candyfloss - the gentle linings of them blending into the blue behind them and the light greys at their curves making them appear fluffy and soft. With the flapping of wings, a gaggle of geese cut across the clouds, and implored Jim's gaze to follow them as the cocophony of their squawking filtered down into this haven of a place, and contrasted to the wholesome soft and gentle atmosphere of the river - with the sweet chirping of birds and rhythmic pattering of the stream. 

The boy snapped out of his reverie when he noticed a soft tugging at his rod, and he blinked profusely as he looked down at the stream to find the float had been tugged beneath the surface. For the second time, he pulled the rod up with a yank, and began reeling it in; grinning as he noticed the fish was relatively larger than the last, as well as the fact that he was well on the way to winning that shilling. He unhooked it with deft fingers, and dropped the wriggling fish beside it's companion only to hook more bait onto his rod and throw the thread back out into the water. 

Jim didn't even glance at Sebastian as he sang out, concentrating on observing the float and adamant to catch the last one and win. 

"I'm winning!"

At the voice, Sebastian looked up and blinked, jaw dropping as he realised Jim had already caught another one. He narrowed his eyes, and stomped over to the water rushing in front of the rock where Jim was planted to kick and splash at the stream with a pout, intentionally causing the fish to flitter away in alarm, and ruin Jim's chances of catching anything more now. The dark-haired boys jaw dropped in shock and insult, watching with a hopeless and disheartened expression as his chances of winning fluttered away with the stream, before his gaze flicked up to Sebastian with a scowl. 

Once the blonde was sure the fish had fled from his feet, he looked up at Jim, that same shock of blonde flopping over his forehead, and pointed an accusing finger at him, squinting. 

"I won't have you jeopardising my manhood and pride" 

At the words, Jim's lips spread into a slow and amused smirk, raising a brow 

"What manhood?" 

Sebastian bristled, mouth falling open in offense as the finger pointed accusingly at Jim turned on him, and he jabbed his chest in gesture to himself.

"My bloody manhood! I told you this is how a real man fishes!" 

With that, Jim rolled his eyes, tutting as he averted his gaze and muttering under his breath 

"It's how a caveman fishes" 

Sebastian narrowed his eyes, and Jim went on, shrugging matter-of-factly.

"Plus, this method is more effective. I caught two fish within ten minutes and you caught none with your prancing about. It's better to use a rod" 

Sebastian huffed, lips pursed in a pout and hands clenched at his sides as he stomped off once again, throwing over his shoulder

"I'll win!" 

He didn't win, and Jim watched amusedly as Sebastian crouched over a pile of firewood twenty minutes later, vigorously rubbing two sticks together in an attempt to spark a flame. He was sat nestled in the tall blades of grass, shilling in his pocket and leaning back on his hands with his legs spread out infront of him and facing the small campfire Sebastian had piled up before he arrived, relaxed. After another few agonising minutes of watching Sebastian struggle - huffing out laughs every time he cursed or grumbled under his breath and amused at his scowl as he failed at trying to make a fire for them, Jim let out a small sigh and reached into his pocket to pull out a box of matches he had brought with him. 

With a short rattle, the box landed at Sebastians feet, and flattened the grass underneath it as the blondes' gaze flitted from the sticks in his hands to the matches at his feet, and his jaw dropped. He looked back up at Jim incredulously, brow furrowed and huffing out.

"You had these the whole time?!" 

Jim nodded

"...And you didn't think to tell me and make this easier?" 

He shrugged, a smirk twitching at his lips, and repeating the line Sebastian had spoken the previous afternoon. 

"More fun" 

At that, Sebastian rolled his eyes, and snatched up the box to strike a match and drop it onto the pile of firewood, sparking a flickering and mesmerising fire. With two sticks, he pierced the fish through the mouth, and handed one over to Jim to shuffle closer and hold them out over the fire to cook. Jim took one with a nod and a grateful smile, emulating Sebastian and shuffling closer to the fire, holding his fish out directly above the heat of it, and watching it flicker back and forth. The congregation of reds, oranges and yellows; the spitting out of tiny sparks to land and sear the grass in infinitessemal rings; and the almost unnatural though ethereal flickering of the fire created a mesmerising element, and Jim could observe the spontaneous and unpredictable waving of it all day, though the blonde seated beside him; thigh pressed up against his own and sitting close, snapped him out of the distraction with a deep voice. 

"...Are you coming back tomorrow?"

Sebastian spoke with a slightly furrowed brow, hesitancy evident in the way he spoke, and Jim looked over at him, blinking a bit with a slow shake of his head. 

"Not tomorrow...I'm busy tomorrow. But I will the day after that...the 20th, is it?" 

Sebastian nodded with a hum, gaze glassy and fixed on the flickering of the fire.

"What are your plans for tomorrow then, Jimmy?" 

The dark-haired boy blinked, and his head slowly moved back to face the fire himself, still holding the stick out over it - the fish gradually and very slowly starting to crisp.

"My Ma wants me to go out into town for her...needs to return some books to the library and get some more stamps, she said...and there's something going on at the church where she volunteers in a few days, so i'm going with her to help out once I get back"

Twirling the stick in his fingers to let the other half of the fish begin cooking, Sebastian gave a slow nod in understanding. 

"So the day after, then?" 

He nodded, humming, and let a small smile spread across his face as he looked back at him 

"The day after. The 20th"

**Author's Note:**

> It's only been one chapter and Sebastian is already a 1920's fuckboy...great :)
> 
> Also, It's so fucking cheesy jesus christ 
> 
> \- Beth


End file.
